The Art of Patience by Sylvain Tesson

Sylvain Tesson has lived an incredibly impatient life. He liked to live life doing things, not waiting for them. He had free climbed the Eiffel tower, crossed the Himalayas by foot, and biked across 31 countries at once. To say it simply, he is not the sit and wait type of guy. Suddenly, a fall sent him to be bedridden for months. He felt the life drain out of him. After this experience, he spent some time with Vincent Munier, a famous wildlife photographer. Early in the book, Sylvain describes spending time with Vincent photographing badgers. I really enjoyed this part of the book because It shows a different side to the originally described Sylvain. Both of them sat for ours just observing. It reminded me of a puppy in a crate. Sylvain, being the puppy, full of energy, but constrained to the sole movement of breathing. Vincent invites Sylvain to Tibet, where they go after the elusive snow leopard. The preface ends with “’The snow leopard,’ he said. “I thought it had disappeared,” I said. ‘That’s what it wants you to think’” (Sylvain xx).

In Tibet, Tesson, Munier, and a team of a few others ventured out in far below freezing temperatures in pursuit of the evasive snow leopard. He constantly expresses his wish to view the leopard, but Tesson must learn how to embrace the virtue of patience. He sees life in a very different way compared to Munier. Tesson lives for the result. He believes that what is achieved is the result of what is endured. Munier, on the other hand, lives for the experience. He believes that whether or not the reward is achieved, at least there was the experience. There is a very interesting dynamic between the two that is not positive or negative, but neutral. There is a mutual respect between the two.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Even though Tesson tended to constantly ramble on, similar in a way to Hawthorne, the majority of the book was fun to read. This book could have easily been fifty pages if the author was concise, but seemingly unnecessary 225 are a part of the beauty. If someone wanted to read this book, I would definitely recommend it. This book can teach us how important it is to preserve our environment, and what our actions are doing to the most remote parts of this world.

- Rishabh